New food pantry opens in Rancho Santa Margarita

Aug. 23, 2013

Updated Aug. 28, 2013 9:53 a.m.

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Volunteer George Colborn, 67, of Trabuco Canyon, picks out tomatoes Thursday to deliver to other food pantries in Orange Country. The Fellowship in Business Food Pantry in Rancho Santa Margarita is held on the third Thursday of each month. Leftover from up to 10,000 pounds of food it receives from the Second Harvest gets shared with other local nonprofit organizations. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Volunteers George Colborn, 67, of Trabuco Canyon, right, and Chris Kenmore, 57, of Trabuco Canyon, pick out cabbages Thursday to deliver to food pantries in Orange Country. Fellowship in Business Food Pantry in Rancho Santa Margarita is held on the third Thursday of each month. Leftover from up to 10,000 pounds of food it receives from the Second Harvest gets shared with other local nonprofit organizations. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Sara Rose, 11, of Mission Viejo, helps load tomatoes on to a van Thursday at the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry in Rancho Santa Margarita. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Ian Rose, 13, of Mission Viejo, right, and his friend, Max Roetcisoender, 13, of Mission Viejo, help transport cabbages Thursday at the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry in Rancho Santa Margarita. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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The Fellowship in Business Food Pantry receives up to 10,000 pounds of food, half of which are fresh produce, every month. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Chris O'Connor, 51, of Mission Viejo, founded the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry, which started distributing food at the Bridge Church parking lot in Rancho Santa Margarita in April. TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Volunteer George Colborn, 67, of Trabuco Canyon, picks out tomatoes Thursday to deliver to other food pantries in Orange Country. The Fellowship in Business Food Pantry in Rancho Santa Margarita is held on the third Thursday of each month. Leftover from up to 10,000 pounds of food it receives from the Second Harvest gets shared with other local nonprofit organizations.TOMOYA SHIMURA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Help or get help

To make donations to the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry, contact Christine Holguin of the Bell Tower Foundation at 949-216-9700, Ext. 254 or admin@belltowerfoundation.org. You can reach pantry founder Chris O'Connor at 781-956-2706 or chrisaoconnor84@gmail.com.

“I had to use one,” the 51-year-old Mission Viejo resident said, after a hesitant pause.

Three years ago, he quit his $350,000 job as a chief financial officer/chief operating officer of a heating and air conditioning company after he was told his salary would be cut by half in a tough economy. He assumed he quickly would find another lucrative job, O’Connor said, but reality soon kicked in.

Pride and ego got in the way, and O’Connor turned down offers that didn’t meet his expectations. Soon he was behind on his mortgage, tapping into his retirement savings and living on food stamps. He visited different food banks each week to feed his family. It took him about two years to get back on his feet, doing work as a financial consultant.

“It was a wake-up call,” O’Connor said, adding that the experience made him stronger and drew together his family. “I wouldn’t have been able to talk about this two years ago. Now, I’m here to help other people.”

After witnessing first hand the need for more fresh produce at local pantries, O’Connor founded the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry, which began distributing food at the Bridge Church parking lot in April. Partnering with local nonprofit organizations, churches and business professionals, the food pantry has served more than 80 families each month to date.

The pantry gets up to 10,000 pounds of food, about half of which is fresh produce, for a $250 shared maintenance fee from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, O’Connor said. Distribution is held on the third Thursday of each month, and the leftovers are delivered to other food pantries.

Age Well Senior Services in Rancho Santa Margarita takes about 30 boxes of leftover food for daily senior lunches and delivery to home-bound seniors.

“All these (seniors) are on fixed incomes,” said Lindy Kehler, a coordinator at Age Well Senior Services.

There are an estimated 400,000 people at risk of going hungry in Orange County, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“There is an underground of proud people just trying to get by that are living out of their cars, renting out rooms in their homes, fighting foreclosure, bankruptcy, mounting debt and doing whatever possible to make ends meet,” O’Connor said.

He is trying to partner with more organizations and increase the food distribution to twice a month. He said his goal is to raise enough funds to help other food pantries that can’t afford the $250.

Thursday afternoon, a steady wave of people showed up at the Fellowship in Business Food Pantry tent in an industrial district. Some arrived two hours before the 1 p.m. opening, O’Connor said. Dairy and protein items such as eggs and sausages are popular and usually are gone within the first hour.

Mothers with children filled bags with oranges, tomatoes, carrots, cabbages and crackers. A brawny man in a clean security guard uniform wrote his name on the sheet as a few volunteers greeted him with a smile.

There was also Renee Roberts, 52, who drove there from her apartment near the Rancho Santa Margarita lake.

“It’s very helpful, especially because it’s close to my house,” she said.

Unemployed and on social security, Roberts said she can’t afford gas to drive to food pantries outside the city.

The former administrative assistant lost her job because she developed carpal tunnel syndrome, which prevents her from typing fast, she said, choking up.

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